To Catch a Predator
I'm sorry about my post yesterday. I let my emotions take hold of me, and I lost any sense of dignity or professionalism. For that, I apologize. I thought about deleting the post, but I've decided to leave it there as a reminder of what emotions can do to a person.
Moving on: I’m going to talk about one of my favorite shows, To Catch a Predator. I’m sure most of you have heard of it, so I’m going to spare you the standard description and just cut to a discussion of the program.
Some people criticize the program for baiting predators. Some people believe that this may qualify as entrapment, while others believe that it is perfectly ethical. However, a discussion of the program’s faults is not why I bring it up.
2CAP demonstrates techniques that online predators use. One such technique is known as grooming. Grooming is when a predator makes a potential victim comfortable with the predator. Offline, this might be done with gifts or favors. However, it’s a little trickier online, where a predator has limited opportunity to give physical gifts to a victim. Generally, a predator will offer much information about him or herself to make the victim feel comfortable offering the same private information. This is a definite warning sign for a predator.
I encourage all parents to watch at least one episode of this program with their children. By seeing what lengths some predators go through to snare innocent children, they make take greater caution with their personal information online.
Please visit the show's official site here